Chasten Breaks Colonial Downs Dirt Mile Record in Sandy Bottom Stakes Debut

Brad Cox had Chasten primed for something special at Colonial Downs on March 14, and the 4-year-old Juddmonte homebred delivered exactly that, rewriting the track's dirt mile record in the first division of the inaugural $100,000 Fasig-Tipton Sandy Bottom Stakes.

Ridden by Cristian Torres and sent off at 7/2, Chasten covered the one mile in 1:33.40 on a fast track, slicing 0.15 seconds off the previous Colonial Downs dirt mile record of 1:33.55. She returned $9 on a $2 win ticket.

The race unfolded exactly the way Cox's horses tend to when they're right. Brown Sugar carved out the early fractions, hitting the quarter in 23.29 and the half in 45.53, with Her Laugh pressing three wide off her flank. Chasten broke in a tight spot and settled in midpack, tracking four wide through the first bend. She improved her position on the turn and angled three wide into the stretch, where Torres set her down. The filly rallied determinedly, wearing down a gutsy Her Laugh in the final strides to win by a half-length. The mile was completed in 1:08.92 at three-quarters before Chasten accelerated through the final quarter in 12.48 seconds.

"(Cox) had the filly ready for me," Torres said. "So I just kept her out of trouble and set her down at the top of the stretch."

Her Laugh, the 6/5 favorite trained by Riley Mott and ridden by John Velazquez, broke sharply and forced the pace but could not hold off Chasten in the lane, settling for second. Passage East, sluggish at the start under Sheldon Russell, rallied wide to claim third. Zadorsky finished fourth and early pacesetter Brown Sugar faded to fifth. Amalfi Drive and Running Away were scratched.

The victory pushed Chasten's career record to 3-1-0 from six starts with $195,034 in lifetime earnings. She is a half-sister to two-time champion older dirt female Idiomatic and was bred and owned by Juddmonte of Kentucky, by Into Mischief out of Lockdown by First Defence. Her 2026 campaign now reads two starts, two wins, $93,000 earned, including her first career stakes score.

The Sandy Bottom ran in two divisions, and the second went to Eunomia, owned by St. Elias Stable, WSS Racing, Turf Express and Stefania Farms. Trained by Saffie Joseph Jr. and ridden by Flavien Prat, Eunomia covered the mile in 1:34.21 in her third start since joining Joseph's barn.

"She traveled very well all the way around," Prat said. "The key was getting her to relax and after that she performed for me."

Elsewhere on Virginia Derby Day, Graham Grace Stable's Tour Player powered past dueling leaders to win the $100,000 Royal New Kent Stakes for older runners, rounding out a three-stakes card at the New Kent, Virginia oval. Chasten's record time now stands as the benchmark for any filly or mare that shows up at Colonial Downs looking to run a mile in the dirt.